Heroes In a Half Shell
by AWill99
Summary: Full summary inside cause it's so gosh darn long. Otherwise, it's a Donnie/OC story, though I have plans for the other turtles.
1. I

_Here's the full actual summary followed by the start of the story:_

**Life took a sudden turn for the worst for Lyric Schmidt when she found herself kidnapped and experimented on at just the age of fourteen. Now with some strange new powers, she finds herself in the sewers of New York in order to stay away from others who could possibly hurt her because of what she now was. When she instead finds herself face-to-face with a small orange bandana wearing mutant turtle, the next thing she knows she is somehow living with him and his three mutant ninja turtle brothers and their sensei, a rat who was once the human Hamato Yoshi. Three years later and Master Splinter is finally allowing the turtles to go up to the surface. Lyric, not particularly fond of going up to the surface unless she has to, finds herself being forced to go up too on behalf of Master Splinter so she can keep a careful eye on the four teenagers. What she hadn't been expecting, though, when asked to babysit, was for the five of them to be gaining tons of enemies, especially alien ones who wish to take over the planet or an insane man in metal armor who goes by the name of the Shredder. What she also hadn't been expecting was for Donatello, the closest turtle to her of the four brothers, to suddenly fall for a certain girl named April O'Neil, causing a weird feeling to stir in Lyric's stomach at just the mere thought of the two of them. **

* * *

I cried out as I landed on the bottom of the sewer. My foot had given out from the impact and twisted slightly to the side. I quickly grabbed my ankle. Tears started to well up in my eyes. Hesitantly I released my ankle and moved my one hand onto the wall beside me. I gagged at the slimy stuff my hand met before forcing my body up into a standing position. It took a bit, but finally I was able to get off of the ground. I just couldn't put my bad ankle fully on to the ground. I had to keep it up in the air and my hand on the wall so I could hop along.

"I hate my life," I whimpered. A second later I tripped for no reason and fell forward on to the ground. I cried out as my face smacked against the ground. A crunch came from my nose followed by blood that splattered out on to the ground, my face, and the white shirt and pants that I wore. My body started to shake whilst I got back into a sitting position. I delicately put a hand on my face and wiped at some of the blood that had decorated my face. The tears that were in my eyes were now fully running down my face, combining with the hot blood. I pressed my hands against my eyes and wildly shook my head. I had to look terrible. Luckily there was no on around to see the disaster that currently was my face. I probably looked like I came out of a gory movie or something.

"Hello?" a young male voice called out to me.

I froze completely. Who the heck could be down here? With my hands still covering my eyes, I peeked through my fingers for the voice who had spoken. Not too far away from where I sat I spotted a dark figure. He looked really small, though. I continued to stare. It couldn't possibly be a kid, could it? Now thinking about it, even the voice had sounded like it belonged to a child. But what could a kid possibly be doing down here to begin with?

"Is someone down here? I thought I heard something," the voice asked, heading a little bit in my direction.

I pressed myself up against the wall until my fingers were digging into the wall. I could feel the slimy stuff get into my fingernails. I had no idea who this kid was, if it definitely was a kid, or why he was even in the sewers to begin with, but I couldn't risk getting caught again. I needed to find some way to get back to my family without getting caught. A difficult task considering I live in Pennsylvania and am currently stuck in New York.

I sighed through my nostrils softly. Besides, the kid would probably hate me as soon as he figured out that I wasn't fully human any longer. It probably wouldn't take too long for him to figure it out.

I glanced back to where the kid was to figure out how much time I had before he discovered me…only to find him gone. I slowly moved away from the wall confused. I gave a frown. The kid was there not even half a minute ago. I wasn't thinking that long, was I? And even if I had been, wouldn't I have notice him wander back the way he had come?

I put a hand to my forehead. I was finally losing it. I bet there hadn't been a kid whatsoever. My mind just made the kid up as an illusion so I could freak myself out to the point of going insane from paranoia. That kid's voice sounded so real, though. But then again, in all seriousness, what parent would allow their child to go underground into the sewers? No sane parent, that's who.

"Whoa. That's a lot of blood there, dudette."

From fright, I jumped at least a good few feet in the air. My mother always used to make fun of how high I could jump when given a good scare. I once even jumped into my best friend's arms once when she forced me into a haunted house with her. Anyway, I spun around to find the kid from earlier kneeling next to me with a wide grin on his face. My eyes slowly widened as I took in his features. Usually I wasn't one to openly stare…but for once I couldn't really help myself. He was green with a shell on his back and a plastron where his stomach and chest was. Like a giant turtle…but he looked humanish too oddly enough. Freckles were speckled across his cheeks and he had an orange bandana or something across his eyes to cover them like a mask. Across his waist was a brown leather belt.

The grin on turtle human thing widened as he watched me. "My name's Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey. What's your name?" he asked me. It was definitely the same figure from earlier.

I never really got the chance to tell him my name cause everything seemed to suddenly go black

* * *

When I awoke later, I found myself in a place that looked like a lab. Scratch that, it was a lab. I see the beakers. I was laying on a metal table with a couple pillows under my head to keep it elevated and another one under my bad foot. I brought up a hand to my face and realized that all the blood at been taken care of as well as my nose. My clothes were still stained, but I was all right with that since it meant that whoever fixed me up had not touched them.

Slowly, and I mean extremely slowly since I was not realizing just how much my muscles were hurting, I rose up on to my elbows and looked around the lab. Besides the beakers and test tubes, there were a couple more metal tables, a laptop, and a combination of completed, discarded, and just started inventions. My hands itched just to grab one of the non-completed inventions and fix it up. I had a knack for inventing things, as well as hacking, so whenever I saw items that could be fixed, or just inventions in general that somebody had already made, it made me super giddy and want to get my hands on the item. It took a fair bit, but I was finally able to force my eyes to continue searching the lab. I frowned in confusion when I spotted some sort of staff leaning against the far opposite wall. It definitely was no walking staff and had really no purpose in this lab. Was it possibly a weapon of sorts? Staffs can be weapons. I've played enough video games to know that.

"Usually we try to keep to ourselves, but if it wasn't for the fact that Mikey found you the way you were, injured and whatnot, we probably would have left you where you were. That way when you woke you, everything would have felt like a bad dream and you would have gone back to your own business."

My eyes widened.

Another turtle human thing appeared beside me. He was a bit taller than the last one I met with a purple mask over his eyes instead of orange and no freckles anywhere on his face. Instead he had a gap between his front teeth. He was much taller than the other one and pretty lanky for a kid. He also had a belt like the other one, but also a sash or something across his plastron and over his shell.

I slowly returned my gaze to the turtle's eyes. He smiled slightly at me, in almost a hesitating sort of way. I could just tell that he had no idea what to make of me. I'd probably be feeling the same if I was in his shoes. I was an intruder in their home. Just like I had no clue what to make of them, they had no clue what to make of me along with the fact that I was now in their sanctuary.

"You're all right, though," the turtle continued. "I cleaned up the blood on your face and then had to put your nose back in to position. It was crooked pretty badly so it might be bruised for a while. Your ankle isn't too bad either. Just a small sprain and swelling. If you stay off of it for a bit you should be all right."

I nodded in thanks but otherwise said nothing. There was no way any of this was really real. I had to be dreaming. Every single bit of this freaking nightmare. From the kidnapping all the way to finding myself in the sewers in the home of two mutant turtles.

The turtle seemed to think for a moment on what to say before finally opening his mouth. "I'm Donatello," he told me as he moved closer to where I lay.

My eyes grew even wider. I didn't mean to, but the next thing I knew I was in pain and on the floor. I groaned and finally closed my eyes. What was I supposed to clench first? Everything was hurting. Ugh. In the end, I just grabbed my head and curled up into a ball.

"Oh my goodness!" I cracked open an eye to watch as the turtle moved around the table so he could help me up. "Are you all right?!"

I jumped away from the turtle before he could even touch me. My back slammed against the table that I had been laying on. He stared back at me silently, but I could tell he was trying not to look hurt at the fact I moved away. I instantly looked away, unsure as to why I felt sorry for my actions.

"Take your time. I'll be in the other room," Donatello murmured. With a quick nod, he hurriedly walked out of the lab.

I stayed where I was on the floor, closing my eyes tightly and already regretting my action for the turtle who had patched me up pretty darn good. But then again. That word. Turtle. A freaking turtle had patched me up. I must be losing my mind. I have to be. Mutant turtles?! There's no such thing! I sighed and banged my head against the table, causing a loud bang to echo around me and for a throbbing pain to enter my head. What was I saying? I shouldn't exist either…yet whatever that green stuff was that got put into my system says otherwise. Here I was afraid of not being accepted and of people being afraid of me…and I was doing the one thing I didn't want to these two nice turtles. Michelangelo and Donatello.

I pressed my palms against my eyes. "I wish none of this ever happened. I just want to go home to Pennsylvania where I have mountains and grass, back to my family who loves me, back to my best friend Tiffany who also loves me and would do anything to keep my safe, and back to talking with my Skype partner-" My head snapped up and I pulled away my hands. "Oh my god." My breathing became fast and rapid as I crawled towards the direction of where the turtle had gone. I pushed open the door as best I could until there was enough room for me to squeeze right on through.

On the other side was what would be considered a living room. The first thing I saw was a couch with a TV right in front of it. And in front of the TV sat a turtle. He looked too big to be the first turtle I met so it must've been Donatello. I quickly made my way over towards him. He didn't seem to notice me, though, because his eyes were glued to the show. Whatever the show was, it sounded like something I would never be able to watch. It just sounded too corny.

Once I was close enough to see that the turtle's mask was blue instead of purple, the turtle himself turned to look at me. We both blinked together in unison. There was three of them?!

"Uh, can I help you?" he asked me uncertainly.

"You're not Donnie," I told him, moving slowly back.

He shook his head. "My name's Leo."

I continued to move back until I was at the point where my back was against the couch. "Sorry…wrong, uh, turtle."

"Miss, you should probably lay down," Leo told me, slowly standing to his feet. "You need to calm down."

"Leo!" Donnie came into view followed by Mikey (the turtle from earlier), another turtle who was as short as Mikey but with a red mask, and a giant rat who was dressed in robes. The rat even had a beard and staff. He stared at me, though, with an unreadable expression. "Good, you found her." I ripped my attention from the rat and to Donatello.

Leo gestured towards me. "She was looking for you."

He glanced at me to see if I actually was. I swallowed and then nodded my head a second later. He suddenly got all concerned and came up next to me. I didn't flinch away this time when he looked over my face and then my foot. Donnie pulled back confused. "Is something wrong?"

I gave a small awkward one sided smile. "It's me, Donnie,…Lyric Schmidt."

The turtle froze as his mouth hung open.

"Got a secret girlfriend you forgot to tell us about, Donnie?" the turtle with the red mask snickered.

Mikey laughed along with the other one. "Donnie's got a girlfriend!" he sang.

The rat glared down at the two turtles. "That is enough, Raphael, Michelangelo." His gaze then moved on to Donnie. His eyes narrowed just a bit as he gripped his green staff. "Though I am very intrigued, Donatello, as to how the two of you could possibly know one another when you have never gone above ground."

I bit my lip and glanced awkwardly to the side, unsure as to how to begin. Donnie on the other hand continued to stare at me, his mouth hanging wide open.

* * *

_First chapter, baby! For those interested, sounding good? TMNT has been on my mind ever since I watched the movie in August and then got into the newer series (eventually will be watching the other two animated series as well in due time). Enjoy and comment!_

_And now here's an explanation for my plan for writing this new year. _

_All right...so...I'm so sorry for being lazy on updates. It hurts me not to update, but I have a personal life too so it was a bit hard. Currently trying to save up money to go to grooming school (currently just got a call for an interview at Petco to be a Pet Stylist assistant and money is money so hoping things go well). Anywho, one of my New Years Resolutions was to try to write more. So here's the plan I've got. Each month I'm going to focus on a particular story. By the next month, I move on to the next story (but only if I finished the episode of the last story (this will probably change in the future when I write things that aren't by episodes)). Now, for this month (don't be too mad) but I started a new fan fiction up only because I needed to write something to help me get back into the groove of writing. Since I have recently become really obsessed with TMNT (profile picture, guys, was probablely a big hint, lol) I have gone that fan fiction route. Not interested, don't read. But then next month will be the continuing of one of my other stories. So, how it's gonna go down. I will post that story literally once I finish this and get the new story information done and over with. Might update it twice depending on how short the first chapter looks. But then will update once next week and so on and so forth. By the time I run out of TMNT chapters, it should hopefully be halfway through February, maybe beginning of March, and will then start posting the beginning of the story of February which I will hopefully have a good few chapters already of that to get started on (once again, not sure which story yet). My goal is to always have a few chapters that will need uploading so I don't fall behind again. If things work out and I can get really ahead with my writing, I will start updating twice a week and maybe three times a week._


	2. Chapter 1: Happy Mutation Day

**Okay. Before this chapter gets started, wanna say a couple things. First off, "chapters" that are called roman numerals are in the past. Like last chapter. Just wanted to point that out because I did not want to make chapters in italics or something. Normal chapter titles are the present and are based off of the episodes of the show. If you ever can't remember what happened in the last chapter (past one or present), I'll try to remember to put a recap to help if it definitely needed. **

**Next, Lyric is an inventor. And it's been three years since the past in the last chapter. She's made things that are mentioned and described in this chapter. There are also other things that I have or will point out that you will probably not understand too much that have to do with the life she's lived. Since I will continue to do chapters in the past, things will be fully explained if you give it time. **

** If I forget to explain something or something is just plain confusing after it's been explained in the chapter, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to explain it again.**

** But anyway, thank you for those interested in my story. This chapter isn't the best. There's a lot of long paragraphs and not much happens until the second part of the chapter. But enjoy!**

* * *

"Oh yeah! Michelangelo is on the move!" Mikey hollered as he went for his eldest brother who was already charging at him.

I crossed my arms and shook my head as I watched them spar. It was Mikey against Leo and then Raph with Donnie. Usually I was one to join in on the sparring, but today I just really wasn't in the mood to. Or at least I wasn't at the current moment. Maybe later on. Besides, sometimes it was more fun to watch and observe the four of them. And by observe, I mean learn their moves and techniques to make sparring with them a bit easier for me. It was the best way to keep up after only knowing the four of them for three full years. Being a kunoichi was definitely hard at times, but it was totally worth it in the end.

I brought up a hand to the top of my head and pulled down the goggles that rested on the top of my head. Goggles that Tiffany has joked look like steampunk ones. I lowered them over my eyes and blinked a few times. I then messed with the watch on my wrist until I came across the app that connected to my goggles. The device on my wrist was basically a computer. It was able to hold multiple apps which were then connected to some device of mine that I had invented. So far it had three. One for my goggles, one for my metal dog, and the last one was used for two things. I had a device in my watch that made it like a radio to communicate with another and then in my ear was the other part of the device so I could hear them back. So far I really only had Tiffany to use it with since she was the only person I knew outside the turtles.

Anyway, the goggles locked on to Mikey and took in everything that he was doing. From his stance to his facial expression, the goggles took in everything about the turtle. It focused particularly on his hands and the nunchucks he held in each one. My goggles focused on the key parts of a person and told me whatever I needed to know to help me take them down. So far I could beat definitely beat Mikey out of the four brothers. With Donnie we go back and forth between who wins and who loses and then Leo and Raph beat me every single time. But I'm improving every single day and hope to one day be able to beat them all.

I smirked and leaned back against the wall. I loved being an inventor sometimes.

"Heeyah!" Leo swung one of his katanas at his brother who dodged by jumping over the weapons and his brother.

Leo glared back at Mikey as his baby brother swung his nunchucks around with a grin. "You don't know what to do." Leo went after Mikey again but Mikey jumped out of the way once more. "I'm here." He ducked and rolled as Leo swung his katana again. "I'm there." The two then stared at one another. Mikey still crouched from when he rolled with his nunchucks up and Leo with one of his katanas held before him at the ready. The older of the two had a determined look upon his face as he looked down at his baby brother. "I could be anywhere," Mikey grinned. The smile instantly vanished from his face, though, when Leo lunged forward and tried to get him. Mikey just got out of the way of the blow. I snickered as Leo turned around with a smile. I could tell he had a plan of some sort. And since the majority of the time Leo's plan's worked, he more than likely had this match in the bag.

"How do you stop what you can't even see?" Mikey asked as he danced a bit around. I rolled my eyes at his childish behavior, asking myself how he could possibly be a ninja.

Leo changed his stance as he faced his brother. Mikey instantly charged forward. Leo's eyes narrowed as his brother grew closer and he quickly turned his weapon around. I grinned, already knowing the outcome. As Mikey approached his older brother to get in a hit, Leo jabbed the younger turtle right in the stomach area. Mikey instantly dropped his nunchucks. He ducked and rolled under Leo's arm and held his bruised area. His eyes were wide and his cheeks puffed out. As Mikey opened his mouth, he groaned and fell sideways on to the floor.

Leo turned to his brother as he put away his one katana. "Like that?"

Mikey's arm flew up in the air. His finger twitched in pain. "Good one, Leo," he breathed out in a raspy voice.

I shook my head and moved forward towards Mikey. "Nice going, dude. A job well done." I grabbed under Mikey's arms and heaved him over to the side of the room so Donnie and Raph could get situated to spar next. As I dragged Mikey along the floor, he picked up his nunchucks along the way and held them close to his person.

"Thank you, Lyric," Mikey said as I got him to the other side of the room. I helped him on to his knees and sit up straight before taking a seat beside him in the same position. With a quick glance around the room, I saw that Leo was off on the other side as Donnie and Raph got situated to start their match. Donnie was already swinging his Bo staff around as he and Raph stared off.

"No problem," I said back to the orange masked turtle as I rubbed his head. He grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back at his adorable grin. We both then turned to the sparring match as Raph spoke.

"All right, Donnie. Put down the staff and no one gets hurt."

Donnie, who had his Bo staff up and pointed at his older brother, looked skeptical. "Uh, you said that last time, Raph, and then you hurt me."

"Yeah, but less than I would have," Raph said with his own hands up and ready. I raised an eyebrow. Raph not using his sais?

Donnie still looked pretty skeptical, his staff was even pointing a bit towards the ground. "Yeah, right."

Donnie brought up his staff again and charged at his older brother. Raph stayed in place until Donnie swung his staff at him. Like Mikey had been doing earlier in his sparring match, Raph ducked and rolled out of the way. Donnie tried to quickly smack him after he had rolled, but Raph just jumped right out of the way. With a frown, Donnie brought back his staff and spun it a bit before stabbing forward towards Raph's face. Raph barely moved his face out of the way before it had gotten smacked.

"My money's on Raph," Mikey whispered to me as Donnie brought his staff back to spin once more before going after his brother again.

"My money's always on Raph," I whispered back. "I'd bet with ya if we weren't voting on the same person."

"I heard that!" Donnie hollered at us as he spun his staff around. He and Raph were facing one another. As Donnie spun his weapon, he tried to hit his brother every so often. "Thanks for the vote of confidence by the way."

"The truth can hurt," I told him with a shrug, just as Raph took Donnie's staff away from him when the taller turtle had been in the middle of striking. I brought a hand over my mouth as I laughed at Donnie's dumbfounded expression of magically losing his weapon.

Donnie gasped and looked up at Raph. Raph smirked back while he casually leaned on his younger brother's weapon. A second later he spun it around like Donnie had been doing before bringing it down onto his knee and snapping it in half. I winced at the destruction of the poor innocent weapon.

"Should've dropped the staff?" Donnie asked as his older brother held each half of the broken Bo staff in each hand and smirked.

"Should've dropped the staff."

Donnie's eyes grew wide as his older brother spun both pieces of the broken weapon before holding one piece above his head and the other at level with his middle. He then charged forward at Donnie. Donnie quickly tried to run away, but Raph caught up with him and started to beat him up on the shell with his broken Bo staff. Mikey and I went into a fit of laughter as the staff pieces echoed off of Donnie's body.

"Okay, okay!" Donnie exclaimed before going onto his elbows and knees. He quickly covered his head to protect it. "Ow! I'm down!"

Leo stepped forward with his katana and faced Raph. Raph glared back and tossed the broken staff pieces on to the floor. Donnie slowly got up, wincing as he did so, and came over to where Mikey and I were. He moved to his knees next to me and stared ahead at his two older brothers. Mikey stuck his tongue out over at Donnie. When Donnie glared back, Mikey went back to grinning like he had been doing before and acted like he hadn't done a darn thing.

I shook my head and nudged Donnie's arm with my elbow. "See why we had our money on Raph now?"

I grinned as Donnie glared. "Oh, shut up," he muttered as he turned back to Leo and Raph. "Besides, I don't see you getting out there."

I tapped the goggles on my face. "I'm observing."

"That's what you always say."  
"Then why do I always beat your butt?"

He glared at me. "You don't always beat my butt, Lyric!"

I raised an eyebrow. "I pretty much do."

"Shh!" Mikey threw a hand over my mouth. I glared back at him and grabbed the back of his hand with two fingers. Mikey winced as I pinched the skin tightly. He pointed over at Leo and Raph once I let go. "It's starting!"

Leo and Raph faced each other. Each one was crouched on to one knee. Leo still with only one katana in hand. The two had a short stare down before Leo spoke.

"_Onegai shimasu_."

Raph gave a one shoulder shrug. "Whatever you say."

Leo stood to his feet first and swung his katana before pointing it at his brother. Once Raph was on his own feet, he pulled out both of his sais, spun them at the exact same time (something that I really wish I could master with the two weapons) and then held them up at height level and aimed back at Leo.

Leo instantly charged once his brother was ready. He swung his katana down at the red turtle. Raph quickly moved both sais and caught the katana blade before it could do any real damage. The two glared at each other before Raph moved out of the hold first. Each brother spun around the other. When they were facing one another again, Leo swung his sword. Raph dodged and then held his weapons up at the ready again. Leo narrowed his blue eyes as Raph spun his sais again. As soon as he stopped spinning them, he held one over his head and the other at his middle (like he had done with Donnie's broken staff) and glared back.

Without wasting another second, Raph ran at Leo. The blue turtle quickly swung his sword down in retaliation. Raph ducked out of the way and jabbed his elbow into Leo's shoulder area, knocking him to his knees. Before Raph had the chance to finish his brother "off" Leo swung his leg around and took Raph down to the floor. He then stood up and held up his katana. Raph frowned as he hopped back to his feet. He glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at his brother as Leo rushed at him. Raph hurriedly brought his weapons up and blocked Leo's katana like earlier.

Raph's eyes suddenly widened slightly when Leo knocked one of his sais towards our direction. While Mikey and Donnie stayed put and unfazed, my own eyes widened as the weapon headed in my direction. I crouched as low as I could and covered the top of my head with my hands. I didn't sit back up until I heard the weapon hit the wall behind me and then clunk as it hit the floor. I glared over at the two sparring brothers.

Raphael brought his other sai up and aimed at Leo. Leo then brought up his sword and held it up beside his head vertically with two hands. A moment later and the two were rushing at the other with their weapons. They both slashed at the other at the exact same time. Raph's slash was apparently better, though, because Leo's katana fell to the floor. Leo's eyes widened ever so slightly down at his weapon. He then looked down at his arm just as Raph shoved half of his sai so it held Leo's wrist. The red turtle spun his sai around so his hand and the blade were directly on top of Leo's wrist and then Raph pulled his older brother over his shoulder, causing him to fly a few feet away and land harshly on the ground.

I winced at the thump that Leo made.

Leo groaned as he grabbed his shoulder. Raph smirked and moved so he was standing over top of his elder brother, each foot on either side of Leo's head. He moved his hands so they were over his belt and the thumbs hooked the top of the belt. Leo looked up at Raph. "Nice try," Raph told him smugly.

"Ya me!" We all looked over as our sensei, Master Splinter, walked into the dojo. The guys and I moved to the center of the room and put ourselves into a straight line with our knees on the floor. I was still situated between Donnie and Mikey with Raph and then Leo to Donnie's right. Master Splinter walked in front of us and down the line. Leo quickly bowed as Splinter walked by him. "You all did very well."

"But I did better," Raph said. I glared over at him as I pulled my goggles back on top of my head.

Master Splinter rounded Mikey so he could walk directly behind us. "This is about self-improvement, Raphael. It is not about winning and losing."

"I know, sensei," Raph replied. "But I won and they lost."

My eye twitched and I was ready to pounce on Raph and beat him into a messy pulp. Maybe I can't beat him when it came to a fair match, but if jumped him now when he wasn't expecting it, I have a better chance of beating him up with my fists. Master Splinter fortunately beat me to his son before I could do any serious damage. I smirked as Splinter put just one finger in the right spot in Raph's neck to make him cry out. Raph quickly tried to fix his error to make the pain end.

"But what's really important is that we all did our best. Good job, everyone!" Splinter removed his finger as soon as Raph finished, causing the red masked turtle to fall forward. "Ah."

I fist pumped the air as Splinter snickered at the misfortunate he brought Raph just to teach him his lesson. "You rule, Master Splinter."

"Thank you, Lyric," he said back.

I grinned and hopped to my feet. I quickly ran over so I was in front of him. I put my hands in front of my face and clasped them, shaking them slightly. I puffed out my bottom lip and stared up at Master Splinter. He stared back at me with a passive look.

"You're gonna teach that to me, right? That would be wonderful to use on Tiffany when I need to get her to shut up long enough for me to speak."

Splinter brushed by me. "Another time perhaps after you have been trained more."

I darted after him out of the dojo and into the main part of the Lair. "Come on, Master Splinter! Please! Is three years, exactly I might add, not enough?"

He didn't even look at me. "No."

"But-!" Before I had another word out, Master Splinter had his finger on my neck exactly like he had done to Raph. I cried out and tried to get away, but his finger remained in the spot. After another moment, he finally pulled his finger away. I quickly placed a hand over the side of my neck and stared at him. Master Splinter chuckled.

"There. I have taught you."

"Taught me?!" I exclaimed. "I learned nothing!"

"Were you not paying attention?" he asked. "I would be happy to do it again."

I moved backwards so fast that I collided with something and fell backwards. I gave a groan. Master Splinter laughed once more before heading in the direction of the kitchen where Mikey was to serve us food. I mentally shuddered at the thought. I loved Mikey, but I can't quite say the same about his cooking.

"Can you get off me now…?" Donnie painfully asked from beneath my butt.

"Sorry!" I flew off of him only to smack against Leo who then hit Raph and knocked the smaller turtle to the floor. I covered my mouth with both hands and stared as Raph glared back up at me. "Sorry," I said with a sheepish grin, lowering my hands so he could see it.

He rose to his feet and cracked his knuckles. "I'll give ya a five second head start, Lyric."

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "I'm not Mikey and I'm not running, Raph. Besides, I said I was sorry. It was just an accident."

"One," Raph started. He cracked his neck. "Two."

I rolled my eyes and casually turned to the big computer watch on my wrist. I pressed one of the apps that had a picture of a plug giving off sparks of electricity as Raph continued with the next number. I could tell he was now starting to get agitated, though, since I was refusing to run. Once upon a time I might've run away from someone wanting to beat me up, but not anymore. I grinned as Raph said four.

The red masked turtle's eyes narrowed a bit at my smile. "What was that?"

I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow as I smirked. "What was what?"

Leo laughed and I then noticed that he was right behind me and had been looking over my shoulder. "Raph's so gonna get it."

Raph's fists clenched, but before he could get another word out we all heard barking come from the direction of our bedrooms. I grinned and turned towards the source as my greatest invention ran out of my room. Sparks stared back at me in glee. His metal tongue hung out of the side of his mouth as he stared at me with his brilliant blue eyes. His tail ferociously moved back and forth, thumping the wall closest to him and causing a loud bang to echo around us. I smirked over at Raph who was staring at Sparks with widened eyes.

I made Sparks the first year I officially lived with the turtles. It was an early birthday present to myself. He basically looks like a Pitbull…just made out of metal. Inside was a chip that gave him the personality of a real dog. It also was what connected him to my watch and was the reason he listened to me and the turtles…but mostly me. I made him because I had never had a dog before and knew that I could never get a real dog into the Lair, so Mikey gave me the idea of making my own.

Sparks is the greatest thing ever. We all love him as a true family member. Well, actually, Raph goes back and forth. He does like Sparks, but it's a complicated love. Sparks is also meant to be a bit of a guard dog. Sometimes his programming malfunctions, though, and he attacks Raph. None of us know why. I've tried to fix him, but so far I have been unsuccessful and Raph despises the fact that I can't get him to stop with the attacking. It is kind of funny, though, when Sparks suddenly sees Raph as a threat and lunges at the turtle. Personally, I think Sparks does it because of what Raph says about him sometimes. He's like me. He isn't a fan of Raph's temper and isn't afraid to show it.

"What a good boy, Sparks," I cooed as he came closer to me. I scratched under his chin, causing his tail to wag even faster than before. "I've a job for ya, Sparks. Yes I do!"

"At least I don't act like that to my inventions," I heard Donnie say to Leo.

I rolled my eyes as Leo replied, "I don't know if I would say that…"

"You keep that metal dog away from me, Lyric!" Raph growled. "This is between you and me.

"Raph!" Leo scolded. "She apologized. It was nothing but an accident."

I placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "It's okay, Leo." I winked over at the blue turtle and then gave Raph a smile which he didn't seem to enjoy. "Well, since you asked so nicely, Raphael." My smile changed into a smirk. I glanced at Sparks and then returned my attention to Raph. "Sick him, boy."

Sparks' eyes instantly turned red. He got into a crouching position and growled loudly and viciously up at Raph. Raph brought his hands up before him in a surrender position. "Easy there, Sparks. I meant metal dog in a good away."

"You didn't sound like you meant it in a good way," Leo pointed out while his taller brother snickered.

"Shut up, Leo!" Raph yelled, causing Sparks to lunge. I saw Raph's eyes widen as Sparks went for his face. The next moment he had brought his whole body into his shell causing the three of us to crack up. Sparks gave a triumphant bark and plopped his butt down on Raph's shell

I gave him two thumbs up and a wide grin. "Outta boy, Sparks. That's my metal dog."

Sparks barked back in reply, his tongue once again falling out of the side of his mouth. 

* * *

A bit later, Sparks, who was sitting in my lap, and I stared at the food that had been set before us. We glanced at one another for a brief second before I then reached forward and pushed the food away. "I'm actually not that hungry, Mikey."

Mikey shrugged. "More for the rest of us then." The orange masked turtle took what was on my plate and dumped it back into the pot on the stove. I stuck my tongue out in disgust when he turned his shell on me.

I hugged Sparks closer to me and glanced at the others next to me who were eating the algae and worms that Mikey had given us. Leo was eating it carefree-like, Raph was aggressively eating it (with glares my way every once in a while), Donnie seemed sick of the stuff after taking just one bite, and Master Splinter seemed content with having food on his plate.

I stared at Master Splinter the longest. "Maybe it's because you've been living down in the sewers for so long, but I've no idea how you can digest that stuff."

Master Splinter took a bite of his food and swallowed before responding. "When you live without normal food for so long, you take whatever you can get."

"I guess three years isn't enough then." I let Sparks drop to the floor where he ran over to his dish of nuts and bolts that Mikey had just poured for him. The young turtle laughed as he watched Sparks devour his food. He gave the metal dog a nice pat on the head. I watched with a smile.

Mikey went back over to his pot and started to stir it as he picked it up. "There's a little bit of algae and worms left if anyone wants it. Anybody? Anybody?" he asked us all, giving each one of us a wide smile.

Down the line starting with Leo:

"No thanks."

"I'm good."

"All yours."

"Well, I guess no one left room for cake!" Mikey pulled forth a cake that he had been hiding behind his back. I stared at it for a moment as the others (minus Master Splinter) moved forward in surprise to stare at it. Considering this was Mikey, it looked pretty good. Too bad I could tell right away it was just more algae and worms. Guess no cake for me.

"Whoa! It is a cake!" Donnie gasped.

Raph ran his finger through the cake and then put his finger in his mouth. He frowned slightly. "Made of algae…" A worm then crawled by. "and worms."

Leo pointed at the cake as he looked at his little brother. "What's the frosting made out of?"

Mikey pulled the cake back a little. "You don't wanna know."

I snorted.

"Happy Mutation day!" Mikey then exclaimed.

"Happy Mutation day!" we all cheered with him.

Mikey then grinned at me. "And Happy Lyric day also!"

"Happy Lyric day!" the others said back.

Donnie threw an arm around me as he gave me a big smile that showed off the gap in his teeth. Sparks barked and ran over to me, putting his legs up on my leg so he could then jump back onto my lap. I gave him a pat before wrapping an arm around his body.

"Thanks guys," I told them as I brushed a piece of my blonde hair behind my ear. I averted my eyes onto Mikey's cake as my fingers then fiddled with the ends of my green mask. "But let's focus more on you guys. It's your special day, right, Master Splinter?"

Master Splinter, noticing that I did not wish for the turtles to focus on me but themselves on their special day, nodded. "Ah, yes. Our lives changed forever and we became the unlikeliest of families."

"I'd say our lives changed a lot when we met Lyric too, though," Leo chimed in.

Raph laughed at me as my face heated up, turning it a crimson red color, In retaliation, I grabbed a scoopful of algae and worms and, with a quick reminder to wash my hand later, chucked it at Raph's face. When the red masked turtle growled back at me, I knew I hit my intended target.

"Bullseye," I grinned whilst Sparks barked in laughter.

"Nice shot!" Mikey cheered as he gave me two thumbs up.

"I don't shoot a bow and arrow for nothing, Mikey." I looked around at each brother and then at Master Splinter. "I think we're getting off topic, though. Your wonderful day. Not mine. Birthdays, or Mutation days, triumph all else."

Mikey nodded enthusiastically before turning to his father and placing his elbow on the table. His head then followed as he rested his cheek in his hand. "Tell us the story, Master Splinter."

Master Splinter turned to his youngest son. "Michelangelo, I have already told it many times."

"Here it comes," I whispered with a glance at Donnie as I saw Mikey bring his hands up into a begging position before his face. Donnie gave a small smile.

"Please! Pleeeease!" Mikey begged, growing louder the longer he held the second please.

Raph, who now stood behind his brother, clasped his hand over Mikey's mouth. "Please. It's the only way to shut Mikey up."

"Ah, very well." Master Splinter said. "Many years ago, when I was still human, I was leaving the pet store with four baby turtles."

"That was us?" Mikey excitedly asked. I smacked my palm against forehead and shook my head.

"Yes," Master Splinter smiled. It then dropped into a quick frown. "Don't interrupt."

I rolled my eyes and wrapped both of my hands around Sparks' body as he placed his chin on the edge of the table to watch Master Splinter as he told his tale. I believe this was the first time Sparks had heard the turtles' and Master Splinter's origin story. Master Splinter has told it enough times, but I guess Sparks just hadn't been around. Or he was sleeping/charging. I placed my head on Donnie's shoulder as I also watched Master Splinter.

"I passed a strange man on the street. Something felt off about him. I decided to follow."

Master Splinter then continued by telling us of how the strange men were in possession of some strange substance and that Master Splinter stepping on a rat was the only reason he was caught. They then spoke strangely to him as two more of the men came up behind Master Splinter. Not knowing what else to do, Master Splinter had to fight for his life. During the fight, the canister of some substance broke and spilled over him and his baby turtles which thus changed each one of them into the mutants they were today.

"That was the beginning of our life together," Master Splinter concluded as he held up the canister that once held the stuff that changed them all. "It was the mysterious substance in this canister that, in a way, gave birth to us all."

Mikey quickly snatched the canister with a grin and hugged it tight to his person. "Mom."

"Mikey," I said as gently as I could. "I know Master Splinter said that it gave birth to you…but it didn't physically give birth to you…"

"So it's like a step mom?" he asked innocently.

I sighed and took my head off of Donnie's shoulder. "You know what? Forget I said anything. That substance is your mom, Mikey. Remind me to get her a card on Mother's Day."

"Just like the stuff inside you that gave you powers is your mom," Mikey said back with a grin.

I swallowed and I could tell the others froze at Mikey's statement. "…Not exactly, Michelangelo."

Mikey blinked and glanced away, realizing the error of his sentence. The others, especially Mikey, always knew that if I used their full name I was either angry with them or upset in some way. It was like how parents responded to their kids when they were in trouble or something. They went for the full name. First, middle, and sometimes last.

"So, Sensei," Leo quickly said, trying to break the awkward silence. "now that we're fifteen, I think we're finally ready to go up to the surface, don't you?"

The atmosphere instantly changed as the four brothers looked over at their father with wide smiles on their faces as they waited for the answer that they have been waiting for most of their lives. I gave a slight shudder. I only ever went up to the surface for two things. Food and quality time with my best friend at her place. Other than that, I stayed as far away from the surface and the people up there as I could. With powers I just didn't belong there any longer. I was a freak to them all. Unnatural. So for four mutant turtles to go on up…probably not the best idea. Knowing Master Splinter for three years has shown me that he'd do anything to keep the guys safe.

Which is why it totally threw me off when he went, "Yes."

I stared up at him in total disbelief, mouth hanging open and everything, as the guys cheered. "Wait, what?"

"And no," Master Splinter then finished, causing each cheer to turn into a groan. I rubbed my face slowly. Goodness Master Splinter…give me a heart attack why don't ya.

"I hate when he does that," Raph went.

"You have grown powerful, but you are still young," Master Splinter told them all. I honestly wasn't sure if any of them were listening, though, because they had all hung their heads in disappointment. "You lack the maturity to use your skills wisely."

Master Splinter stood up and all the turtles and I turned to watch him. "So, Sensei, isn't that just no?" Donnie asked.

"Yes. And no." He turned to face Donnie. "Wisdom comes from experience. And experience comes from making mistakes."

"Ain't that the truth," I muttered, leaning back to place my elbows on the table. "I've got plenty of wisdom for you four."

Donnie tried to take his father's words, though, from a logical point of view. "Aha! So in order for us to gain the wisdom, we have to make the mistakes. So we can go!"

"No."

"And yes?"

"No!"

"Oh!" Donnie groaned. I patted his shoulder.

"Sensei, we know you're trying to protect us, but we can't spend our whole lives hiding down here," Leo said with a glance my way.

"I beg to differ," I told him whilst Master Splinter looked off to the side and stroked his beard.

I seemed to get ignored, though, because the next second all four brothers were side-by-side in front of Master Splinter on their knees. They had their hands in clasped in begging positions before them as they gave giant puppy dog eyes to their father. I rolled my own eyes, glad they weren't my children. I pity anyone who has the misfortunate of quadruplets. Having to deal with four children all at once seems near impossible. Then again, I'm not a mother.

The moment Master Splinter glanced at each turtle, he sighed and I then knew that it was official. They had him right where they wanted him. They won.

The turtles were going up to the surface.

"You may go tonight."

Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and Raph each cheered in triumph. Mikey then jumped to his feet and brought up one of his hands. "High three!" His brothers instantly brought their own hand up and they put theirs on top of Mikey's.

I shook my head, but wore a small smile. "I've no idea how you made it through fifteen whole years with four boys, Master Splinter. Most people can't handle one, let alone twins yet you had to raise each one of them from infancy."

He smiled back. "It was not easy…but it was worth it. And now I have a fifth child."

I blushed. Mikey then ran over to me and wrapped me up in a tight hug, literally lifting me off of my chair. Sparks had to quickly jump off to save himself. "Happy Lyric day, Sis!"

I just knew my face turned even more red when Raph started to laugh at me.

"Thanks, Mikey," I told the young turtle. "You're a pretty sweet brother. Thanks for finding me in the sewers that day."

Leo crossed his arms over his chest. "It's pretty hard to imagine life without you now, Lyric. Just think if Mikey would have left you where he found you."

"I would never have done that!" Mikey huffed.

"Or if we hadn't known one another through the internet," Donnie added.

I nodded, still in Mikey's hug. "I'd probably be dead or on my own somewhere…so thank you all for taking me in."

"You're one of us," Raph told me as he helped me out of his brother's arms. I gave him a nod of thanks when he finally succeeded. "Mutants stick together."

"Family sticks together," I corrected with a grin, throwing an arm around his neck to rub my knuckle on to his head.

"Yeah," Raph agreed, quickly pulling his head away. He crossed his arms and nodded. "Family sticks together."

I smirked and gave him a wink. I then looked back at Sparks. "Come on, Sparks. I've gotta check your wires." Sparks instantly jumped up and ran out of the room to get away from me. I sighed. Whenever he ran, it usually took forever to catch him. And my watch didn't work when he knew what I wanted to do with him. "I can't wait until he grows out of this stage of his."

The others sighed too. "We'll help you catch him…like usual," Leo promised.

"Thanks, guys. I owe you one…again."

"What are we on now? Ten?" Raph asked looking at his brothers.

"Eighteen," Donnie instantly answered. "And just this month too."

I gave him an un-amused look. "You're actually counting? Really, Donnie?" Donnie just gave a shrug. I sighed again. "Well…at least family sticks together. Let's get that dog." 

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Please do not forget to comment and vote if you enjoyed the chapter. And, sorry for not updating technically last week like I had wanted to. Work has been crazy lately and I didn't quite have the time. Still sticking to my chapter a week, story a month thing (except I will update once more this week since this chapter is technically for last week). Have a good day!**


	3. II

_I gave a small awkward one sided smile. "It's me, Donnie,…Lyric Schmidt."_

_The turtle froze as his mouth hung open._

_"Got a secret girlfriend you forgot to tell us about, Donnie?" the turtle with the red mask snickered._

_Mikey laughed along with the other one. "Donnie's got a girlfriend!" he sang._

_The rat glared down at the two turtles. "That is enough, Raphael, Michelangelo." His gaze then moved on to Donnie. His eyes narrowed just a bit as he gripped his green staff. "Though I am very intrigued, Donatello, as to how the two of you could possibly know one another when you have never gone above ground."_

_I bit my lip and glanced awkwardly to the side, unsure as to how to begin. Donnie on the other hand continued to stare at me, his mouth hanging wide open. _

* * *

The rat raised an eyebrow at us. "Well?"

I sighed. "You see, um, sir." I gestured between Donnie and me. "We met online on a forum for computers and hacking." I glanced over at Donnie. "We just kind of started talking with one another one day and the next thing we knew we were always talking with one another…"

The rat sighed. "Is that true, Donatello?"

Donnie finally snapped out of it. He put a hand to his head and got a dazed and confused look on his face. After a moment he looked back at the rat and nodded slowly. "Yes, Master Splinter."

Master Splinter started to stroke his beard in thought. His gaze moved directly on to me and I could tell he was just silently studying me. I tried my best to keep eye contact with him, but I couldn't help but fidget a bit though under his stare. It was very intense.

Finally he asked, "What brings you to the sewers then, Miss Schmidt?"

"You can just call me Lyric, sir," I told him. "I don't mind." I then ran a hand through my hair. Or at least what little hair I had. I kept forgetting that it only went to the bottom of my neck now. I can't wait until it grows back out. "And it's a long story…and not a pretty one."

"How old are you, Lyric?" he then asked, catching me off guard.

I blinked. "Um, fourteen."

Master Splinter nodded. "I see." He looked off to the side, once more stroking his beard. After a few silent moments, he looked at each one of the turtles, his eyes falling last on Donnie before returning back to me. "You may stay if you wish."

"Wait, what?" I asked in surprise, but he had already turned and started to walk away. "Stay? With you five?!"

"Who else would he be talking about?" the one in red asked sarcastically. He crossed his arms with a frown and narrowed his eyes at me. "If you decide to stay, though, don't mess things up or I'll beat you into a pulp. Got it?"

Still not fully processing the whole offer to stay with four mutant turtles and their master rat, I just bit my lip and gave the turtle a nod. He nodded back in satisfaction before marching off somewhere. I wrapped my arms around my chest once he was gone and took in an unsteady breath.

"Don't worry about Raph," Leo told me with a small smile. He reached out a hand for me and I took it after a few seconds of hesitation. "You'll get used to him…if you decide to stay that is. Not that I'm trying to tell you that you even have to."

As soon as I was on my feet, I instantly sat back down but on the couch itself. I stared at each turtle with a frown. I swallowed uncertainly. It might now be confirmed that I knew Donnie from before today…but I was still in the presence of three talking turtles currently. There's no way they were born this way. Someone or something must've made them the way they were. Still a bit to take in.

"You're not gonna faint again, are you?" Mikey asked me, sounding a bit uncertain.

That was all it took for a smile to appear on my face and for a laugh to come forth from my lips. I laughed for several long seconds. When I finished, I wiped a tear from my eye and looked up at the three.

The turtles blinked at one another. Mikey definitely looked the most puzzled. "What I say?"

I brought a hand over my mouth and awkwardly covered my mouth. "Goodness… I haven't laughed in a while. That felt nice." I gave a quick cough into a closed fist before looking back at the three turtles. "So, once for clarification. What are your names? I want to make sure I have them stored correctly in my head."

Leo pointed at himself. "Leonardo or just Leo if you prefer." He pointed at the orange one. "Michelangelo or Mikey." Next he pointed at Donnie. "You already know Donatello or Donnie." Then he rolled his eyes. "And Raphael, or Raph, is our brother who threatened you a few moments ago."

"And then Master Splinter is our father and sensei!" Mikey added with a grin.

I blinked. "Really?"

"He's not our biological father," Donnie told me. "But he's raised us from infants so he's our father in that sense."

I grinned. "And that's why you never talked much about your brothers or father."

Donnie rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a little hard to bring up in conversation that you and your brothers are giant talking turtles being raised by a talking rat, Lyric."

I shrugged. "I probably would've written you off as crazy to be honest with you."

"I might've done the same if I had been in your shoes."

"So you're gonna stay, right?" Mikey said, giving me some wide eyes and the cutest expression ever.

I bit my lip and glanced down at my hands. I rubbed them together for a few moments before looking back at Mikey who was still wearing the same expression on his face.

"Maybe," I told him. "But I need to think about it first. I need sleep."

"I guess you can sleep in my bed," Donnie told me, glancing at the others. He gave me a small smile. "Come on."

"If you stay you'll get your own bed!" Mikey told me excitedly as I started to follow behind Donnie, limping ever so slightly. He quickly ran to catch up with us before we got too far. Leo watched us go with a quick wave before turning back to his show on the television.

I gave a small smile. "Really? My own room too?" I teased.

He nodded really fast several times. "Yeah! You'd be a part of the family!"

I bit my lip. "We'll see, Mikey. I still have a family so…I'm not quite sure about that last bit."

His smile dropped instantaneously. "Oh." He was then oddly quiet for the rest of the walk to Donnie's room.

I looked ahead at Donnie's shell for a moment before sighing. I had my own younger brother at home and I understood completely that feeling when you crushed his spirits, even if it meant telling the truth. I had to say something to raise those spirits back up.

"Here we are," Donnie told us, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I snapped my head away from his shell and looked at the closed door he was indicating. One of his hands was on the knob as he started to open it. I nodded in thanks once the door was fully open and then turned to Mikey. I grabbed both of his hands and looked down into his baby blue eyes. After a moment I crouched down instead to stare more up at his eyes.

"Mikey, even if I may not be a part of your family, I can still be your friend. I will stay with all of you for as long as I can until I return to my own family. After that, I promise to find whatever excuse I can to return to New York to visit you, your brothers, and Master Splinter. Sound good?"

I swear that the biggest smile appeared on his face as his eyes started to glow. He nodded his head so fast that it looked like it was going to fall off. Then, out of the blue and totally throwing me off, he tackled me to the floor in a hug. I yelped as my back hit the floor and he put his full weight on me, but then I smiled as I saw he was snuggling up against my chest.

"That would be amazing, Lyric," he told me.

I awkwardly patted his shell. "Good…now please get off of me, Mikey. As great as you are…you're pretty heavy…and I can't breathe properly at the moment."

"Sorry!" Mikey quickly jumped off of me. "Have a good rest!" he told me before darting off.

Donnie hurriedly came over to help me up. "Sorry about Mikey. He can definitely be a handful at times."

I waved the comment off. "It's cool. I totally understand. Got two brothers of my own, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Clinton and Charles, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Mikey reminds me a bit of Charlie. He'll be eleven in a month. How old is Mikey?"

"We all just turned twelve today. It's actually our Mutation day since we mutated twelve years ago."

I grinned. "That's cute. And I honestly never would have thought that you were all twelve with your differences in personality.

"You told me that people never believe that you and Clinton were twins, remember?"

"Fair point."

Donnie chuckled. He then led the way into his room. I glanced around with a wide smile. Like in the lab, there were a few inventions laid here and there, some finished and some not. Donnie quickly ran over to his bed and rolled up the blueprints that were spread about on the bed itself as well as the floor and nightstand. I laughed as he tried to roll each one up as quickly as possible. When he had them somewhat decently rolled, he went over to his bed and fixed the covers up.

I moved over beside him to watch him do the bed. "I seem to fail to understand the need to fix the bed when I'm about to sleep in it, Donnie."

"Because…" he paused in his fixing to turn to look at me. "Fair point," he grinned. I smiled back and gave a laugh. I then plopped my butt down on the covers so I could stare up at him. He hesitated a moment before sitting down beside me.

I turned full to face Donnie, moving my legs so they were criss crossed Indian style. "I don't mean to be offensive…but may I?" I pointed at his features awkwardly. "I'm kind of curious."

I saw him swallow, but he did nod saying it was all right as he turned his body so it was facing me. I gave him a smile to show that I was going to be as gentle as I could before reaching out for his arm. He lifted it up for me and let me run my fingers over his skin starting with his hand and moving up his arm until I reached the shoulder blade. With a quick look his way, I saw that Donnie was holding his breath as he watched me. I turned back to his body and moved my hand so I could run a finger down his plastron. I felt every single line and crack on his plastron, enjoying every single thing. I then moved my hand onto his shell and just moved my fingers from the shell's smoothness to the grooves etched into it.

I finally brought my hands to his face. "May I?"

I gave a small smile as he released that breath he had been holding. He nodded without saying a single word, though, and I reached up behind his head and started to untie his mask. Once I had it off, I placed it on the bed beside me.

"Wow," I breathed, running my hands over his cheeks. I rose up on to my knees in order to move a bit closer. "You're amazing. All of you. Just the fact that you exist is astounding."

"Thanks," Donnie murmured as I started to rub my thumbs over his cheeks.

"I give permission back to you to feel my hands and whatnot too, but its all the same skin."

"I figured as much," he said with a smile.

I laughed as I continued to feel his face.

"Everything all right?" Leo asked. Donnie and I glanced over at him. Leo blinked. "Um, I didn't mean to interrupt…sorry."

I raised an eyebrow at him before slowly turning back to look at Donnie. Donnie turned his head back as well as we blinked in unison at one another. At the exact same time, we both jumped back away from one another and to the opposite sides of the bed.

"Not what you think, Leo," I told the blue turtle.

"Whatever you say," he told us, slowly backing out of the room. "I'll come check on you later, Lyric."

"Good idea," I told him as he shut the door. I looked back at Donnie. "I just made things a bit awkward, didn't I?"

Donnie sighed. "A bit, yeah. Leo won't say anything to the others, though, and I'll explain what you were doing."

"Thanks. I owe ya one."

Donnie nodded and rose to his feet. "I'll let you get some rest. Sleep well, Lyric."

I smiled. "Thanks." I moved under the covers and watched the purple turtle head towards the door. "And, it's nice to actually see the real you after a year and a half of messaging one another."

Donnie faced me once he was outside of his room. He smiled. "Same, Lyric. Talk with you later."

"Talk with you later," I replied softly. Once Donnie shut the door, I closed my eyes and threw an arm over them.

What a day…

* * *

**So freaking short! Sorry 'bout that. I hope to make these chapters in the past much longer eventaully. But yeah...thoughts? Comments are greatly appreciated. **


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